Wildlife Watching in North Wales – What to Look Out For

March 5, 2018

North Wales charms all who visit the area, with its captivating coastline, encompassing mountains and immersive countryside there is a plethora of outdoor, natural wonders to be admired. This incredible landscape doesn’t only provide sights to be admired, but, it is also home to an abundance of wildlife. The diversity of the scenery makes it a perfect habitat for a broad range of rarely sighted and beautiful animals, as well as a wealth of vibrant and colourful plants, some of which can only be seen in this part of the country!

Snow Buntings – Gronant Dunes

The infamous snow bunting spends the majority of its year in the much colder and harsher climates of Alaska, Greenland and Canada. It is during the winter months that the UK shoreline becomes home to the beautiful snow buntings, typically, they arrive early October and return North in February/March. There have been several sightings of the bird over the last couple of years, from both visitors and residents. Sighting them requires patience and a good pair of binoculars. Head to Rhos Point or the RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands for the best chance of spotting them!

Kingfishers – Snowdonia

The vibrant and colourful feathers of a Kingfisher and their unique movements are unmistakable. With such distinct colourings, such as blues, greens, oranges and browns, they are one of the most colourful wild birds in the UK. The stunning bird is well-known for its love of streams and rivers, particularly those with surrounding woodland. Kingfishers are frequently spotted flying above some of the slow-flowing waterways of the Snowdonia Mountain Range, as well as perching on overhanging trees in the hope of landing a catch. Like much of the UK, kingfishers can be seen year-round, but they are in abundance around Snowdonia, in particular, the Spinnies Nature Reserve, making the dominating mountain range a haven for bird lovers.

Starlings – Conwy

Conwy Estuary is renowned for the incredible murmuration displays of the thousands upon thousands of starlings. This incredible show is one of nature’s finest and the historical location in North Wales offers one of the best backdrops for you to appreciate it. Conwy is a hot spot amongst dedicated bird watchers, and it is the starling murmuration phenomena that they often come to see. It is said that the birds synchronise their flights, landings and feeding spots to reduce the risk of predators attacking and to find a safe location to rest. Although starlings appear black when there is a large collection of them swooping around the sky, they are in fact shades of purple and green. They can be spotted all year-round, but it is in autumn that large volumes of them arrive from Russian, Finland and Germany for the milder winter months.

Atlantic Grey Seals – North Wales Coast

The beach-loving grey seals can often be spotted along the North Wales coastline, with their most frequent sightings from August to November, when the colonies come ashore to give birth to their young and breed. The months of autumn are not the only time these incredible sea creatures are spotted. As they also come to North Wales during February and March to moult their winter coats!

Have you seen any of the wildlife mentioned above during your stay at our Wales holiday homes for sale? Do you have any pictures you would like to share with us? We would love to see them via our social media channels!